Author: Clint Morse

It is with great sadness that we write that Ed Hicks, owner of Orienteering Unlimited, passed away on Jan. 1, 2021. Ed was a major advocate for the sport of orienteering over many decades and spearheaded the production of hundreds of maps of parks, camps, school grounds, conference and nature centers across the United States. His cheerful presence will be sorely missed.

If you would like to support Ed’s wish of growing the sport of orienteering, contributions can be made to the Orienteering USA Youth Mapping Program. This program aims to develop school maps and thereby promote the sport.

View his obituary which includes memorial donation information. You can also view and share your own remembrances of Ed over on the Attackpoint website.

At its meeting on Monday, December 21st, the Orienteering USA Board of Directors voted unanimously to elect Faye Doria to fill an open position on its board. Faye will fill the remaining one year of a three year term in the position previously held by Susan Grandjean who stepped down this fall. Faye has been an active orienteer with Up North Orienteers (UNO) and the New England Orienteering Club (NEOC) for over 20 years both as a competitor and volunteering as course setter, meet director and registrar at many meets over the years at both the local and national level.

Recently retired, Faye also brings a lifetime of experience in financial services to the board including 30+ years as a personal financial planner, tax planning and preparation, financial support for healthcare non-profit and two years serving her local community as town treasurer. I am sure OUSA’s financial committee will find her expertise invaluable.

You can read Faye’s complete candidate bio from the OUSA library here.

Orienteering Cincinnati (OCIN) will be postponing the 2021 OUSA Nationals originally scheduled to be held at the Flying Pig on March 19-21, 2021. At this time, it is unlikely that we would be able to use at least one of the parks, and we cannot be reasonably certain that people from around the country would be able to travel to and from the Cincinnati area without restrictions. OCIN is presently discussing specific options and expects to have an update about this postponement by early January.

The Orienteering USA board meeting previously announced for December 14 has been rescheduled to December 21 to allow more time for preparation of the annual budget proposal. Details are available on the Agenda.